When autumn peeks its leafy face around the corner, nothing welcomes us back to school quite like a raunchy, teen comedy full of sex, drugs and rock & roll. There’s something transcendent about a perfectly crafted coming-of-age film portraying the ups and downs of youthful angst and emotion (plus a solid amount of booze and drugs). In anticipation of the upcoming fall semester, we’ve put together a guide to the classic movies that’ll not only prep you for your first round of exams but also the first round of keggers. Enjoy!
Cover Photo: Touchstone Pictures
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Back To School Movie Classics
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'Animal House'
Our advice to you is to start drinking heavily -- and to watch this comedy classic immediately. Make sure to take notes for future parties. Togas are always a big hit.
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'The Breakfast Club'
It may be a little self-defeating to think about how to get through a day of detention before classes have even started, but this classic flick manages to make it look like fun to be in trouble, while also teaching valuable life lessons, like the proper way to crawl through ventilation systems or which kid makes the best drug mule.
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'Dead Poets Society'
Carpe diem! There's nothing else to even say. You'll learn more about coming of age from this film than any wise old grandpa could ever teach you in real life.
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'Fast Times At Ridgemont High'
Is there anything better than high-school stoner Sean Penn? No, there absolutely is not.
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'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'
This film is easily every high school guy's dream scenario: ditch school with your best friend and your girlfriend, change your grades to all As, steal a classic Ferrari, go to a Cubs game in the middle of a day, eat at a fancy restaurant, and somehow get home before your parents even knew you were gone. Life moves pretty fast; if you don't stop and look around every once in a while, you could miss it.
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'Footloose'
Don't waste your time with the remake; go with the original. Kevin Bacon dancing, crushing some warehouse gymnastics, dating the preacher's daughter, and kicking country-bumpkin ass left and right.
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'Can't Hardly Wait'
This is an underrated classic that may have been overlooked in the late '90s. If you've never seen it, head down to your local Blockbuster Video and rent it immediately. You won't be disappointed.
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'Dazed And Confused'
Richard Linklater's Texas high school dramedy stars a chubby Ben Affleck, hilarious Matthew McConaughey, one of the London twins, Adam Goldberg, Anthony Rapp, Cole Hauser and Parker Posey. Are you cool, man?
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'American Pie'
This film cleared the way for an overlooked subculture of people dying to come out of the pantry for years. Baked goods-based adult relations hit an all-time peak courtesy of Jason Biggs' famous pie-coitus scene.
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'Clueless'
From all the research available on the interwebs, high school in Beverly Hills in the mid- to late '90s was portrayed in accurate detail by this Alicia Silverstone-lead comedy, all the way down to the smallest of details, like stepsiblings falling in love.
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'Grease'
After a re-watch of this classic musical comedy, you'll probably also notice how raunchy most of the high school discussions were in the late '50s. It's a true treat.
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'Mean Girls'
Is this finally the year you make fetch happen? These lovely ladies will make sure to prepare you for what high school is really all about: exclusive cliques, back-stabbing, lying, cheating, and of course, prom.
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'Old School'
Who hasn't wanted to start their own fraternity? Especially when it includes partying with Snoop Dogg, Will Ferrel, Luke Wilson and Vince Vaughn.
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'Rushmore'
If you want confused teenage angst combined with perfectly framed scenes and sarcastically dry dialogue, then you'll enjoy this beautiful Wes Anderson film filled to the brim with Schwartzman-on-Murray crime and punishment.
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'Superbad'
The classic points to a great high school movie are all here: underage drinking, sex, gratuitous language, cops who want to party, and a Hawaiian organ donor named McLovin. There's no better way to get ready for another school year than to fast-forward to the last two weeks of the year.
